Consumer insertable cells or pre-packaged cells wrapped in shrink wrap typically have cell terminals with centrally disposed contact areas. For instance, a positive terminal in many cylindrical cells and even prismatic cells have bumped out contact areas that are centrally disposed while the negative contact terminal covers the entire surface of an opposing end of the cell. If a manufacturer of a consumer portable product provides a rechargeable cell or cell pack for their product, the manufacturer must be careful to prevent the charging of non-rechargeable cells or primary cells. Presently, most rechargeable and non-rechargeable cells physically fit into the same charger assembly, presenting a hazard to the consumer and liability to the manufacturer.
A product having a pre-packaged rechargeable cell pack or pre-packaged rechargeable battery pack usually has power contacts to power the product and charger contacts for charging the battery or cell pack. A battery pack having primary cells usually does not have charger contacts because charging many primary cells such as alkaline cells is hazardous. Consumer insertable rechargeable cells are inserted into a charger just as easily as a primary cell. The only thing preventing a consumer from inserting a non-rechargeable cell into a charger is a warning label. Therefore, a need exists to physically alter rechargeable cells and their respective chargers to only allow the charging of the rechargeable cells and prevent the recharging of typical consumer inserted non-rechargeable cells or primary cells.